“Inspiring,” “romantic” and “life-affirming” are just a few words to describe The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Inspired by James Thurber’s 1939 short story, this film unpacks a wallop of Hollywood big names as director Ben Stiller does his finest to bring to life Thurber’s loosely-based characters.
Overall, this film focuses on the concept of Thurber’s most famous short story – to live life to its absolute fullest and under no circumstances settle for less.
Ben Stiller plays Walter Mitty, a quiet middle-aged man who slips between the cracks in his job restoring photographs for Life Magazine. Often caught spacing out and creating new alter-egos for himself, Walter is frequently found to be a target for office jokes. After years of loyalty to his work, a shocking string of events occur that force Walter to get out of his comfort zone and travel the world in order to save job security for the entire office.
This film is filled with awe-inspiring one-liners, talented actors, heart-lifting music and incredible scenery. Cheryl Melhoff, played by Kristen Wiig, offers an adorable sense of romance to the story, as Walter circles the globe seeing her face appear everywhere, from cloud formations to flower sculptures. In one scene, Melhoff is seen playing David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on guitar as Mitty spontaneously jumps into a flying helicopter.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a must-see. It leaves you feeling like the world really is your personal playground. There are things to do, places to see, foods to try and people to meet. Why not go and do those things? Everyone has had a yearning to catch a departing plane to India at some point or another and through watching this film you are able to see the other side of the word yearning: living. If anything, this film should show the viewer how beautiful life can be when you just take a chance and get a passport. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 15, 2014.
